Tigers open WAC wrestling season with win over Gauchos

The Los Banos and El Capitan wrestling teams entered 2016 expecting to be in the Western Athletic Conference title hunt.

It made Wednesday night’s league opener more meaningful, with the winner getting the early inside track.

The Tigers fired the opening salvo, riding a 22-6 run en route to a 41-30 victory.

“Getting a win tonight was important to us,” Los Banos coach Jose Castro said. “We lost the league opener last year and spent the rest of the year trying to play catch-up. We made a heck of a run at the end, but ultimately we were in a three-way tie for second. You can’t count on having a big run like that every time, so we wanted to build some momentum early.

“We know we have the guys. It’s a question of whether they come ready to wrestle or not. Tonight they were ready.”

A Nathan Gonzales decision in the 132-pound match and a Michael Solarzano pin in the 152-pound fight helped the Gauchos build an early 9-7 lead.

Los Banos answered with back-to-back wins in matches both coaches deemed up for grabs.

A couple of escapes and a takedown were all Gilberto Medriz and Isaac Gonzalez had to show through the first five minutes of their 160-pound bout, with the Gauchos’ Gonzalez clinging to a 3-1 lead. Medriz turned the tables with a pin at the 5:08 mark to put the Tigers back up for good.

Paul Reyes followed with a major decision over El Capitan’s Lucas Horoe at 170. In one of the more entertaining bouts of the night, thethe two went right after each other through the first two rounds. Reyes broke things open in the third with a couple near falls to earn his team an extra point, and Los Banos tacked on a forfeit victory at 182 to take a 23-9 lead.

“On paper we felt like we were going to win coming in,” Gauchos coach Josh Wickard said. “We lost some matches I felt were there for the taking. The 160s definitely hurt. At the worst it looked like we were only going to give up three points, and we had the lead when the pin happened. That’s a major swing. And unfortunately, once a team gets momentum going like that, it can be tough to turn things back around.”

El Capitan’s Kevin Fernandez did his best to slow the tide, recording a pin at 195.

The Tigers didn’t bat an eye. Daniel Fernandez came right back with a pin at 220 and a forfeit at the heavyweights finished the Gauchos off.

“We came in ready for this one,” Reyes said. “All throughout Christmas break, we kept working hard just preparing for this duel. I personally wanted to start my senior year off right with a win.

“There were a couple matches there in the middle where we really grabbed the momentum. Once you see some of your teammates win and you hear the crowd cheering, you really feed off of the energy and want to keep it going.”

The WAC will crown a girls team wrestling champion for the first time this year, and the Tigers certainly have to be among the favorites. Los Banos secured a 54-6 victory to start league play. Haley Quintana (126) and Mariah Euley (132) both recorded pins for the Tigers. Adreyanna Wickard provided the Gauchos’ points with a pin at 120.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 10:56 PM with the headline "Tigers open WAC wrestling season with win over Gauchos."